This director is vindictive.

Chapter 271 The Silent Truth Makes Even Advertisements Silent

The filming of Jiang Yang's suicide scene on the second day went very smoothly, so smoothly that Chen Mo was somewhat frightened.

This scene was actually not easy to act because Jiang Yang was not in despair at this point.

What are the typical circumstances of people who commit suicide? They usually have such thoughts when they are in despair, but Jiang Yang is not like that.

His suicide was, in fact, a kind of relief, just as he himself said, "I had done my best." He devoted his entire life to trying to help Hou Guiping, but these efforts failed to achieve the result he desired. Death, for him, may have been a release; he was finally able to unload the burden and no longer carry the weight of this case on his shoulders.

His first promise was, "I will do my best," and his last was, "I did my best." He truly did his best, exhausting all the strength he had in his life. Even his death was his final effort.

Therefore, this suicide scene is completely different from ordinary suicide scenes. He did not commit suicide with despair and sadness, but with his last hope!

But this scene, which was clearly difficult to film and act, went so smoothly that it was unbelievable. Even Chen Mo had a strange feeling that the person in front of him was not the actor Bai Yu, but Jiang Yang!

But that's precisely what frightens Chen Mo!

Especially when Bai Yu was told by Chen Mo, "I hereby announce that Bai Yu has finished filming!"

He revealed a chilling smile. Although the smile was ordinary, conveying a sense of relief, it sent a cold sweat down Chen Mo's spine.

Because in his mind, Bai Yu's smile wasn't his smile, but Jiang Yang's smile, and that was fucking terrifying.

As it turned out, Chen Mo's concerns were not unfounded.

"Dr. Zhou, how is it?" Chen Mo forced the psychologist to talk to Bai Yu, and immediately after the conversation, he asked.

Dr. Zhou is a well-known psychologist in the industry and is also very familiar with the entertainment industry.

Upon hearing Chen Mo's question, he said seriously, "According to my preliminary diagnosis, Mr. Bai Yu fell into a severe state of character immersion during filming, and even experienced a brief period of blurred perception of reality."

"In the process of portraying Jiang Yang, he not only perfectly replicated the character's behavioral logic, but also unconsciously absorbed Jiang Yang's psychological state - that 'sense of relief after doing his best' gradually eroded his own emotional boundaries."

"In other words, he subconsciously sees himself as Jiang Yang, not Bai Yu! This is a very dangerous sign. I asked him about it, and he said that he had done in-depth research on the prototype of Jiang Yang before filming, and even visited many people he had met during his lifetime. This almost obsessive immersion may be the root cause of his inability to detach himself."

"This situation is rare, but I have encountered it before. In a sense, it means that the boundary between art and reality is about to be completely broken!"

Chen Mo asked, "Is there any way to intervene?"

"Don't worry, although his condition is indeed a bit serious, he has finished filming, and I will follow up! However, he must temporarily stay away from the crew, the script, and other triggers to reduce stimulation related to the role," Dr. Zhou said.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Dr. Zhou!"

After seeing Dr. Zhou off, Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he hadn't heard of him getting too caught up in his roles in his previous life, Chen Mo still took precautions.

When Chen Mo watched this drama in his previous life, he had a feeling that Bai Yu was really perfect for the role of Jiang Yang.

But now that he's a director, he understands that it's not because he's really suited for the role, but because after playing the role, he considered himself Jiang Yang for a long time.

Jiang Yang is a fictional character and does not have a specific image. When he fully immerses himself in the role, his image naturally becomes Jiang Yang!
Of all the dramas Chen Mo has ever filmed, "The Silent Truth" is arguably the most depressing and suffocating.

This will naturally affect the atmosphere of the entire production crew.

However, "The Silent Truth" was successfully completed. Although the series only has 12 episodes, the filming period was actually quite long.

After filming wrapped, Chen Mo immediately began post-production.

On the other hand, we also need to discuss and communicate with Tencent Video about the broadcast arrangements.

As we all know, besides selling copyrights, advertising revenue is also a major source of income for online dramas, and this is now the standard procedure and model for online dramas.

Other dramas, such as inserting commercials, producing commercials related to the plot, and having the main or supporting actors read the commercials, can be said to be the basic formula.

In this world, this thing was first created and popularized by Chen Mo back in the days of "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City".

Moreover, the results were excellent, winning praise from many viewers who said that they had made advertising so interesting.

Nowadays, online dramas hold investment promotion meetings in conjunction with the broadcasting platform before airing, so Chen Mo's new drama naturally has no shortage of brands willing to invest.

But this time, Chen Mo hesitated.

He suddenly remembered that in his previous life, the TV series "The Silent Truth" was disliked by many people because of its product placement.

Most viewers certainly wouldn't like advertisements. Back then, "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" received unexpected praise because it was the first to try something new, and its competitors made it stand out.

It can be said that it is not a reliable reference.

However, this is one of the current common business models for online dramas.

However, "The Silent Truth" is really not suited to this conventional formula.

"No product placement? Director Chen, are you kidding me?"

Inside the meeting room, when Chen Mo mentioned "The Silent Truth," Sun Huai, the vice president of Tencent Video, looked at Chen Mo with a surprised expression.

The others were also somewhat surprised.

Are you kidding me? Chen Mo's new drama, and one of the most famous Mist Trilogy dramas at that, product placement can definitely bring in a lot of revenue.

Tens of millions in revenue! Is Chen Mo really that aloof?

No, Chen Mo had never rejected this way of generating revenue in the past; in fact, he was the one who first created and promoted it.

So when he suddenly announced that he wouldn't do product placement in "The Silent Truth," it was hard for everyone to understand.

"I'm not joking!" Chen Mo said seriously.

"As a serious realistic crime drama, 'The Silent Truth' naturally excludes product placement due to its subject matter, narrative style, and thematic depth," Chen Mo explained.

"Product placement would disrupt the oppressive and tense narrative atmosphere! Moreover, our show aims to keep viewers' attention highly focused on the plot. If advertisements are inserted, it will definitely cause emotional detachment and affect the viewing experience!"

Chen Mo wasn't being aloof; he remembered his past life.

The most criticized aspect of the original "The Silent Truth" was its product placement.

They even trended on social media because of product placement, which is really something else.

This shows how much viewers dislike product placement in this drama, far more than in other dramas.

The product placement in the original version was so bad it completely broke my nerves in the very first episode!

Before Bai Yu's character Jiang Yang officially appeared on screen, he only appeared once in the series as a corpse, and his face was not clearly visible. Then, he mentioned the name "Jiang Yang" briefly in a conversation between several police officers.

Before that, as an ordinary viewer who had never seen the trending topics or paid attention to the actors' information, I was curious about the role of Jiang Yang in the drama and his appearance. Obviously, this kind of suspense effect was what the director wanted to see.

Just then, the advertisement appeared!
The content of the advertisement was even more absurd; a male actor came up holding a yogurt and asked Bai Yu, "Jiang Yang..."

What's even more puzzling is that the advertisement has already told you about Jiang Yang, but the rest of the plot is still shrouded in mystery.

What's even more outrageous is that in the scene after the advertisement where Jiang Yang interacts with the lawyer, he first appears as a silhouette, and then is portrayed as a villainous character who is idle and threatens others.

Chen Mo just wanted to say, what a load of rubbish! You told the audience in the advertisement that Jiang Yang was played by Bai Yu, so how could his role in the series be insignificant?
The sudden advertisement instantly shattered the suspense of the plot. Do you still want to maintain the suspense?
Typically, a web series episode usually features 3-4 advertisements, including in-show clips, overlays, and product placements within the plot—a remarkably high-frequency intrusion. "Moreover, for brands, the product placement in this series will absolutely backfire! Think about it, the villainous group in the show is the Kahn Corporation. Will viewers have a good impression of these frequent product placements? Isn't it possible they'll be directly criticized? I can already imagine the words netizens will use in their complaints: 'Kahn Corporation's spies? Why aren't they reporting in?'" Chen Mo said.

Sun Huai fell silent after Chen Mo's words.

Although he wanted to say it was unlikely, the truth is, this situation could really happen.

"Furthermore, Mr. Sun, do you think high-end brands would be interested in product placement? The answer is no, because high-end brands have never wanted to be associated with keywords such as 'suicide' or 'corruption'."

However, affordable brands cannot afford the public opinion risk of "consumer suffering".

To give a simple example, what happened to a certain mineral water brand after it appeared in a scene depicting embezzled funds in the TV series "In the Name of the People"? Chen Mo had to elaborate further.

It's because Chen Mo's status and position are different; otherwise, other directors wouldn't be discussed with this by the platform.

Who do you think you are?
In fact, once the drama has been sold to the other party, even if it's Chen Mo, unless he breaches the contract, he can't really make such a decision for the other party.

However, from the perspective of a creator and a director, Chen Mo really doesn't want to repeat the mistakes of his previous work, which was criticized and trended on social media because of product placement.

Chen Mo couldn't bear the embarrassment!

"Furthermore, there's another point: who is the core audience for our show? The core audience is a rational, highly educated group, including university students, highly educated individuals, lawyers, legal professionals, and so on. Their tolerance for blatant product placement is far lower than that of the audience for sweet romance dramas. Forced advertising will lead to a lose-lose situation of 'earning placement fees but losing core users.'" Chen Mo continued to add fuel to the fire!
Now even Zisun Huai had to be cautious.

The main question is, is there a possibility, as Chen Mo mentioned? Of course there is! And the probability is quite high!

So what's the truth? The truth is, Tencent Video is indeed planning to put a lot of effort into advertising this show.

After all, having purchased the broadcasting rights at a high price, Tencent Video also faces the pressure of recouping its costs.

To put it bluntly, if there are enough product placements, and with the reputation of Chen Mo's new drama, the product placements alone could potentially recoup their losses, or even generate direct profits.

He could, of course, refuse outright, but this matter also required the cooperation of Chen Mo and the "Silent Truth" team, even though all of this was written into the contract.

The problem is that Tencent Video doesn't want to ruin its relationship with Chen Mo over this.

For a moment, Sun Huai was also caught in a dilemma.

"What about commercial breaks, I mean commercial breaks that aren't tied to the plot?" he asked as a second choice.

Chen Mo nodded and then shook his head. Since he had brought it up, he naturally hoped that the drama could be completed cleanly and thoroughly in one go.

"Mr. Sun, inserting regular commercials is certainly possible and the negative impact will be reduced. However, I still maintain that I am not very optimistic about it. Why not go all the way and sacrifice some profits to gain a better reputation and more popularity?"

"Inappropriate product placements might get us trending on social media, so if we keep things clean and don't have any product placements or product placements, can we still trend on social media?" Chen Mo thought for a moment and said.

Sun Huai's eyes lit up. Was that possible? Of course it was!
After all, in the current environment, whether it's broadcast on TV or online platforms, advertisements are definitely the most criticized.

If "The Silent Truth" really doesn't have any ads, then that would definitely be a major selling point.

But that alone is clearly not enough to make Tencent Video give up such a lucrative opportunity!
Chen Mo was aware of this, of course, so he continued to increase his bets.

"How about this, for the promotion of this drama, I can bring the main creative team of the drama to cooperate with the platform this time, and we can even do a live interactive program, what do you think?" Chen Mo said.

Sun Huai immediately laughed.

To put it bluntly, it's nothing more than an exchange of benefits. Normally, it would be extremely difficult to invite Chen Mo to appear on screen or participate in any program.

Although Chen Mo has an obligation to cooperate with publicity, in reality, most of the time it's just limited to posting on Weibo and giving interviews.

Needless to say, for web series, Chen Mo is the director, not an actor.

In the conference room of Tencent Video, Sun Huai pondered for a moment and finally nodded: "Director Chen, you've convinced me. We can try the 'zero-ad' model, but the premise is that the word-of-mouth and popularity of this show must meet expectations."

Chen Mo smiled slightly, confident: "Don't worry, Mr. Sun, I have confidence in the quality of 'The Silent Truth'. Moreover, without the interference of advertisements, the audience can be more immersed in it, and word-of-mouth will naturally spread."

After the meeting, Chen Mo immediately convened his team to adjust the publicity strategy. Tencent Video also acted quickly, highlighting "the first serious drama on the entire network with zero ads" as its core selling point, releasing trailers on major social media platforms, and displaying the eye-catching slogan at the end of the trailers: "No interruptions, no product placement, focusing on the truth itself."

This move has indeed sparked heated discussions among netizens!

Moreover, the effect exceeded expectations, with three related terms even trending on social media.

#The Silent Truth - Zero Ads# (Breaking News)

#ChenMo's new drama dares to do this# (Trending)

#Web series no longer require ads# (New)

However, judging from the comments of netizens, it is not hard to see that the general public has been suffering from commercials for a long time.

The reason is that the advertising practices of TV stations and online video platforms in the past were truly outrageous.

"Comments interrupting TV dramas" is not an exaggeration.

The comments from netizens are quite interesting.

"Finally, I don't have to watch yogurt commercials after autopsy footage anymore!"

"Really? There are still dramas without commercials? Chen Mo is amazing!"

"I was so moved I cried. The last time I watched a certain drama, there were three yogurt commercials in one episode, and I immediately dropped the show!"

"Support! Serious topics shouldn't have their atmosphere ruined by ads. Tencent Video has really set a new standard this time!"

This wave of promotion made "The Silent Truth" a hit even before its release.

As one netizen put it, "I'm not particularly interested in this kind of serious drama, but just for the gimmick of zero ads, I have to subscribe and support it!"

"It has to be you again! Chen Mo truly lives up to his reputation as a marketing genius. Remember when the web series inserted ads that were linked to the plot? It was Chen Mo who first came up with that idea in 'Candle in the Tomb,' right? But now you've reversed it and stopped airing ads altogether. You really do take advantage of everything, good or bad!"

"No problem. Serious films and TV shows with commercial breaks are unbearable to watch! Imagine being in a tense and exciting situation, and then suddenly a commercial breaks in—all the tension and excitement are washed away, okay?"

However, while the "zero-ad" model has won praise from a large audience, it has also sparked fierce controversy within the industry!
Industry insiders criticized Chen Mo's move as "damaging the industry ecosystem," arguing that product placement is a crucial source of revenue for online dramas, and if other production companies follow suit, it could lead to platforms reducing investment or raising membership prices.

A well-known producer publicly stated: "If even Chen Mo's dramas refuse to advertise, the survival space for small and medium-budget production teams will be even smaller—platforms may require them to use more advertising to make up for the losses."

Meanwhile, although many netizens voted with their feet in support of "zero ads," some ordinary viewers still believe that "the cost of a show without ads will ultimately be passed on to membership fees."

On social media, there was even a debate about whether paying to remove ads was worthwhile, with some users posting their membership renewal bills and questioning, "If the platform raises prices because of this, will Chen Mo foot the bill for us?"

This controversy has further amplified the topic's popularity, even prompting several video platforms to take it seriously.

As the saying goes, "ducks are the first to know when the river warms in spring," and Tencent Video, as the instigator, even released information to test the waters.

They say they plan to launch a "serious theater" section and pilot an ad-free model.

As the central figure in this controversy, Chen Mo responded to the controversy in an interview with Tencent Video.

"A creator's primary responsibility is to ensure the integrity of the work. If viewers are distracted by commercials, even the best storyline will be diluted—this is not arrogance, but a basic professional principle."

"Of course, this 'zero-ad' situation is an exception. I am not against advertising, but specific issues need to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis!"

(End of this chapter)